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Showing posts from July, 2019

Having More Kids Won't Lower Your Credit Score!

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MoneyTips Congratulations! Your family will soon be blessed with your first child. You're on your way to a lifetime of cherished memories – and a whole new series of financial challenges. From bringing them into the world to sending them off to the working world, children are one of the largest expenses of your lifetime. According to 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average cost to raise a child from birth to age seventeen is $233,610 for a two-parent family with two children. That figure can easily double if you plan to pay part of their college tuition. It's no wonder that for many families, children equate to debt. Each child adds to a family's average debt – but perhaps not as much as you think. A recent study from the credit reporting agency Experian found that the average debt per household... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2MtRXv9

Having More Kids Won't Lower Your Credit Score!

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MoneyTips Congratulations! Your family will soon be blessed with your first child. You're on your way to a lifetime of cherished memories – and a whole new series of financial challenges. From bringing them into the world to sending them off to the working world, children are one of the largest expenses of your lifetime. According to 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average cost to raise a child from birth to age seventeen is $233,610 for a two-parent family with two children. That figure can easily double if you plan to pay part of their college tuition. It's no wonder that for many families, children equate to debt. Each child adds to a family's average debt – but perhaps not as much as you think. A recent study from the credit reporting agency Experian found that the average debt per household... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2MtRXv9

Should Credit Bureaus Be Fined When Hacked?

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MoneyTips Huge data breaches are becoming commonplace, exposing the personal information of thousands of consumers to potential identity theft – but the 2017 Equifax data breach may have been one of the most disappointing. Data breaches often target retailers that store personal information on their customers. You have a choice whether or not to shop at that store, and sometimes whether to allow information to be stored there. The Equifax breach exposed the personal information of over 145 million Americans, with most of those Americans having no business with Equifax. Many of those consumers may not even know who Equifax is, or why they would have their information. Equifax and their companion agencies Experian and TransUnion are the three primary credit reporting agencies in America. They receive information from creditors and lenders on virtually all borrowing and cred... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2Ot0nWt

Millennials Do Use Credit Cards!

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MoneyTips Millennials faced a difficult entry into adulthood. Many came of age during the housing crisis and the Great Recession, facing scarce jobs and crushing student loan debt. It makes sense that Millennials would be wary of taking on more debt – and Experian's most recent State of Credit Report backs that up. According to Experian's report , Millennials held an average of $4,315 in credit card balances in 2017 – far less than Baby Boomers ($7,550) and Gen Xers ($7,750). Even Silent Generation members had more average credit card debt at $4,613. Only the younger Generation Z held lower credit card debt ($2,047), probably because they haven't had time or sufficient credit limits to rack up large balances. However, being credit averse doesn't mean you cut off credit card... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2ycgPiE

Your Car Reveals Your Credit Score

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MoneyTips It seems obvious. If you drive an expensive car, you must have an excellent credit score – but that's not always the case. Credit scores are calculated from factors in your credit report , including on-time payment history and how much of your available credit you use. You could be a Lamborghini driver who is drowning in debt and regularly misses payments on items other than your beloved car. You could also own a Lamborghini because you've saved money for years, have no other debts, and used credit properly to enable your dream car purchase. How do drivers' credit scores correlate to the model of car that they drive? LendingTree data from used auto loan applications tend to fol... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2YdSgk2

Your Car Reveals Your Credit Score

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MoneyTips It seems obvious. If you drive an expensive car, you must have an excellent credit score – but that's not always the case. Credit scores are calculated from factors in your credit report , including on-time payment history and how much of your available credit you use. You could be a Lamborghini driver who is drowning in debt and regularly misses payments on items other than your beloved car. You could also own a Lamborghini because you've saved money for years, have no other debts, and used credit properly to enable your dream car purchase. How do drivers' credit scores correlate to the model of car that they drive? LendingTree data from used auto loan applications tend to fol... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2YdSgk2

Talking To Your Kids About Money Pays Big Dividends

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MoneyTips Are your kids ready for the financial challenges of adulthood? The 10 th annual Parents, Kids, and Money Survey from T. Rowe Price shows the benefits of early financial education, including both formal schooling and parental guidance. The T. Rowe Price survey typically polls children aged eight to fourteen years old, along with their parents, to assess early financial understanding and habits. For the 10th annual survey in 2018 , T. Rowe Price decided to switch their focus to young adults from eighteen to 24 years old to follow-up on the first survey, when those young adults would have been in the proper polling range. T. Rowe Price's findings aren't surprising. Financial education in school is important, but what kids learn at home has an even greater impact. Young adults who received... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2OayUc2

Top States Where Seniors Carry Debt

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MoneyTips Debt is no picnic at any age, but it's particularly rough on senior citizens. Most are nearing their retirement years or have already retired with little time (or money) to pay down debts. Seniors tend to have better access to more credit if they need it. Their average credit score is 745, well above the national average of 701. That's both good and bad news. Better access to credit can tempt seniors into increasing debt or letting credit ride throughout their retirement years when they have less income to avoid a debt spiral. The credit reporting agency Experian finds that Americans aged sixty and above do have less debt than the average American – $70,633 compared to the $93,446 national average – but that's still a troubling number given that most incomes will decrease during retirement years. The amount of seni... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/30uAczJ

Top States Where Seniors Carry Debt

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MoneyTips Debt is no picnic at any age, but it's particularly rough on senior citizens. Most are nearing their retirement years or have already retired with little time (or money) to pay down debts. Seniors tend to have better access to more credit if they need it. Their average credit score is 745, well above the national average of 701. That's both good and bad news. Better access to credit can tempt seniors into increasing debt or letting credit ride throughout their retirement years when they have less income to avoid a debt spiral. The credit reporting agency Experian finds that Americans aged sixty and above do have less debt than the average American – $70,633 compared to the $93,446 national average – but that's still a troubling number given that most incomes will decrease during retirement years. The amount of seni... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/30uAczJ

Kids' Credit Card Usage Way Up

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MoneyTips America's credit card debt is nearly $1 trillion, according to Federal Reserve data. How much of that debt belongs to your kids? The 2019 Parents, Kids, and Money Survey from T. Rowe Price shows that credit card use has skyrocketed among 8-to-14-year-olds over the past seven years – from 4% in 2012 to 17% today. That's almost as high as the percentage of kids with checking accounts (19%). Only 41% of kids with credit cards pay their bill. Parents pay 59% of the time – although this statistic could be misleading. Kids in the 8-year-old to 14-year-old age range are probably paying off their debts with allowance money or earnings from chores. Parents are responsible for charges in any case since children that young can't open credit cards under their own name. If you've added your child... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2YQPIoY

Credit Freezes And Your Mortgage

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MoneyTips Few things are more effective at fighting identity theft than credit freezes. When you freeze your credit, potential lenders can't access your credit file to assess the risk of lending money to you. No risk assessment means no credit – so identity thieves can't use your stolen information to create fake accounts in your name. You can't open new credit accounts in your name, either. When you're ready to shop for a new home or refinance your existing one, you must temporarily remove (thaw) the freeze so lenders can assess your credit. Fortunately, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 removed credit freeze barriers by making them free and simple to apply and remove. If you request a credit freeze with any of the three major credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax) over the phone or via a secu... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2RY5b3Y

Credit Freezes And Your Mortgage

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MoneyTips Few things are more effective at fighting identity theft than credit freezes. When you freeze your credit, potential lenders can't access your credit file to assess the risk of lending money to you. No risk assessment means no credit – so identity thieves can't use your stolen information to create fake accounts in your name. You can't open new credit accounts in your name, either. When you're ready to shop for a new home or refinance your existing one, you must temporarily remove (thaw) the freeze so lenders can assess your credit. Fortunately, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 removed credit freeze barriers by making them free and simple to apply and remove. If you request a credit freeze with any of the three major credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax) over the phone or via a secu... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2RY5b3Y